Got a Logitech Harmony universal remote? Want to control your home theater pc with it along with everything else in your living room? Then this is the remote you want. I actually only needed the IR adapter and i was able to control my pc with the Logitech Harmony 880. I tried the remote pictured here and it works perfectly but i didn't need it. If you want a cheap IR to control your HTPC then here is a good solution. Oh and to program the Harmony to work with it you'll need the model name and number which is: Chinavision CVSB-983 Wireless USB PC Remote Control Mouse for PC
This little gem works great and can be used with about any learning universal remote, including harmony (so long as you teach it the commands). There's also a JP1 upgrade for it if you're so inclined (no-name USB PC remote). I'm mainly writing to unlock the mystery of the A, B, C, D hotkeys. The instructions say that each can send any of 3 key combinations. A, for example, sends Ctrl+Alt+A, Ctrl+Alt+1 or Ctrl+Alt+F1. I couldn't figure out how to tell it which of those 3 to send. Well the fact is that each button sends all 3 hotkeys at once. For example, pressing A sends Ctrl+Alt+A, Ctrl+Alt+1 and Ctrl+Alt+F1 all at the same time. So they're basically giving you a choice of keys, but you wouldn't ever use more than 1 in each group of 3. I did a little experiment and made 3 different shortcuts using Ctrl+Alt+A, 1 and F1, and they all opened at the same time from just a single press of the A key.
This little gizmo is just beautiful for what I bought it for. See, over time, it has come to the point that almost none of the shows that I like seem to air when I'm home (or awake) so, I've taken to watching them online on my laptop. Add in that one of the few things I can afford is a subscription to NetFlix and well, hooking into my television only took a couple of cables for very little $$ so there ya go. The only problem was trying to pause when I had to get up or the phone rang.
Now, I suppose that I could have gone the Bluetooth adapter route but, frankly, without a coffee table what was I going to run it on? My leg? And since those presentation remotes are designed for Power Point, I wasn't sure that any of them would work for what I needed; which was basically a mouse in a remote form.
Enter this little remote which, seemed a little too good to be true given the price and all, but despite my misgivings- this thing really does work. Seriously, all I have to do is hook up my lappy and turn him on for the night. I can even switch the displays using the remote from my couch and even turn it off at the end of the evening without ever having to cross the room- so he's back to normal and ready for work the next morning without any extra fuss.
The unit itself comes in a small box with the remote, the IR USB adaptor, a slip of paper for the instructions and that's it. The English in the instructions is- well, horrid, but understandable. (It's a remote so, there's really not a lot to explain anyway). As always, the most valuable bit of information in them is the button chart, particularly since there were a couple that aren't necessarily standard; such as the window drag button (which, not only works just fine but is also a very clever and very useful feature for getting the display windows out of my way on the desktop but keeping them open for switching back later).
Unfortunately, as is true for all remotes- there are, however, those couple of buttons that really do nothing for me. Again, just like all of the others, I think it's either due to my system (much as I love my lappy, he's an el cheapo containing no bells and/or whistles of any sort), or due to my lack of knowledge (one or two clever tricks does not an expert make).
Still, this thing is clever, perfect for me and just what I needed to tell those idiots at scheduling that they can finally take a flying leap because, once again, I can watch my tv shows on my tv without having to dive across the room every time Nature or just the mother-in-law decides to call.
This high quality Universal PC Remote is an AWESOME value for only $5 bucks plus change and shipping! Many reviewers gave this device a low rating simply because they can't get the four Hotkeys to open their media player, or other applications as expected. This issue is due to a poorly written instruction sheet, and is not due to any flaw with the device itself. The instruction sheet is entertaining but incomplete. The English is so poor it's laughable.
Here's how to setup the Remote's Hotkeys under Windows... Right click your mouse on your player shortcut (hopefully located on your Desktop, else you will need to create one), and then clicking "Properties". In the "Properties" screen there is a text box labeled "Shortcut Key". Click on this text box and press the "ALT and A" keys simultaneously. Click the "OK" button . Now the player's shortcut will run whenever the remote's "A" Hotkey is pressed. Now wasn't that easy!
If you want to assign the "B" key to another player (or any other application you wish to start), then use "ALT and B". Hotkey "C" use "ALT and C". Hotkey "D" use "ALT and D". If you want more than one application to open when you press the "A" Hotkey, then in the second application's short cut use "ALT and 1". A third application can be started by using "ALT and F1". This works because when you press the "A" Hotkey the remote sends three strings of control characters sequentially (Ctrl +Alt+A, then Ctrl+Alt+1, then Ctrl+Alt+F1) and can open three separate applications.
Would you like an easy way to type text using your remote without having to resort to pressing number keys (like you would on a cheap cell phone). In Windows 7 (and may be available in earlier version too) you can use the On-Screen Keyboard (OSK). This feature gets its input from the mouse instead of the keyboard. Go to Windows Help if you want to learn more about the OSK.
You can create an On-Screen Keyboard shortcut by going to the program executable located at: C:\Windows\System32\osk.exe. Right click over the osk.exe file and create a shortcut on your Desktop. Then go into properties and assign the "Shortcut Key" to one of the Hotkeys (as described earlier). The On-Screen Keyboard will be displayed on the lower part of your screen. You simply move the mouse over a letter on the screen and click. It works so much better than pecking at those number keys. - Htpc - Pc Remote - Media Center - Computer Remote'
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